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On March 24 1603, the Scottish king James VI ascended the
English throne as James I, thus uniting the crowns of England and
Scotland. It has often been argued that Macbeth, thought to
have been one of three plays performed at Hampton Court on 7 Aug
1606 for James and Christian IV of Denmark, is a reflection of the
new king's personal and political preoccupation with regicide and
kingship. James was something of an authority on the complexities
of royal succession and hereditary rights, and had written, amongst
others, The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598) which
insisted on the divine right of kings, and Basilikon Doron
(1599) which was concerned with the distinction between good
monarchs and tyrants.